Posted by Steven Egay for the Gigaquit Civic Club
April 9, 2013
Charliemen Asilum is GCC Scholar #0001. He finished Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, Cum Laude at the College of St. Catherine in Quezon City.
This was his graduation speech as Cum Laude (he wrote this by himself and he delivered it eloquently without reading all the way) . . .
The time has
come to harvest the fruits of our labour, the result of four years of
persistence and struggle. I know that we
all deserve it because from the beginning, we have given all our best. Despite
the problems and obstacles we had encountered, we remained to be determined and
willing to finish our battle to the end.
My fellow
graduates. Let’s not wait for the opportunities to come. Let us go confidently
in the direction of our dreams and live the life we have imagined. Let us go,
find and seek for it. But we must not forget that life is a continuous process
of learning. As we tend to have experiences, we must learn to realize and
internalize the lessons we obtained from it. Let us seek and crave for learning
because learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with passion
and attended to with diligence.
After this, we
may part ways pursuing our dreams, looking for ourselves and searching for our
place in this world. And I hope that this is not the end but a start of
something new in our lives, something that will make our life meaningful not
only for us but also to others. Let us share the blessings we are receiving
because I believe that a blessing that is not shared does not serve its worth,
meaning and purpose.
As we receive
our diploma, let us not forget to thank those who helped us build our dreams:
our Alma Mater which made us strong and proud Catherinians, our teachers who
imparted to us invaluable knowledge and taught us the realities of life, our
parents and guardians who were always there all the time especially when we
have problems and adversities.
I would like to
personally thank my guardians, Mr. Steven Egay and Mrs. Evelyn Egay for supporting
me financially, morally and spiritually and for guiding me all the time. I know
that without you, I would not be standing here in front.
To my
classmates, the “IT’SOK” group of IT students. Thank you so much for making me
feel that I am not alone, for giving me your trust, for being my brothers and
sisters, and for being my faithful and true friends. Also to my schoolmates,
thank you for making my stay here in College of St. Catherine worthwhile.
To my family, my
brothers and sisters, to my father: wherever you may be right now, I know that
you are so proud of me. Thank you and I miss you so much. To my mother: though
you are not here today, I know how proud you are to see me here on stage. Thank
you so much for having me as your son, for being my loving mother, for taking
care of me since birth, for teaching me the right path and for being my
inspiration. Ma, I dedicate this all to you.
To those I
forgot to include, thank you so much for you untiring support and dedication.
And to the
Almighty Father for the guidance, knowledge, and wisdom. I know Lord God that
without You, I am nothing.
As I end this
speech, I would like you, my fellow graduates, to always remember this.
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in
life but by the obstacles which he has overcome”. Congratulations to all of us!
